Improvement in preparing para ffine-oi l



UNITED. 'STATES* PATENT OFFICE.

, WILLIAM snows, or lGLAsoow. SCOTLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN PREPARIN-G PARA-FFIN-E-OIL.

Specification founing part of Letters Patent No. 10,055. dated Septenib( r 27, 1551i.

To all-,whom 1lb may concern.'

Be it known that I, VILLIAM BROWN, of `the city of Glasgow, in the count-y ot' Lanark, Scotland, have invented or discovered improvements' intreating coal and other bituminous substances, and for treating the volatile products resulting therefrom; and I do herebydeelare that the nature of my said invention andthe manner in which the saine is to be performed are fully described and ascertained in and by the 'following statement thereof,.referenee being had to the drawings hereunto annexed, and tothe `figures and letters marked thereon-that is to say:

The first operation consists in distilling the- AJthe end 'of the retort and rapidly expels thev volatile matters arising from the coal or other bituminous substances, by which their decomposition into gas is wholl y or n1 great measure prevented and the amount of oily or condensable products greatly increased. Figure l in the annexed sketch shows the disposition of the retort and steamlpipe. Having by this means' obtained a quantity of -volatile products `from 'coal or other bituminous substancesthese are again subjected to distillation in a still or other convenient vessel, with or wit-hout the employment of a stean1-pipe, though I prefer to use steam when a large amount otl parafii ne is required; but where the production of oil is the chief object steam may be dispensed with. When steam is used,gthisis to be brought into the still ina superheated state by passing` it through a red-hot steam-pipe disposed in the .furnace or flue oi' the furnace which heats the still. The steanient'ers through the upper part of the side ofthe still, as shown in Fi 2, and promotes, as before, the distillation of the volatile matters,while it retards their destruction or conversioninto gaseous or other worthless compounds. By this means the paraftine to settle.

and heavy l1ydroearbonaceo'us oils are -prei A served.

During the progress of the second distillation it will be observed that the products vary at differentI periods lof the distillation, and` these are, therefore, to be kept separate or received in different vessels. At first a thin oil` or eupioue comes over to the extentoi' aboutx ployed; and,lastly,a thick butyraceous matter is evolved, consisting chiefiy of paraiiine, but

mixed with heavy oil, and4 this continues to the cud of the operation, and constitutes about y onefiourth-of the bull: ol.' the tluid originally used. These three products are treated as follows: The eupione is mixed with from iive to ten per cent. of its weight of oil of Vitriol or sulphuric acid, to which an equal bnlkof water is added before mixing. 'lo these'bichromate ot' potash is next thrown in equal in weight to one-half of the sulphuric acid em` ploye'd. rlhe wholeis then heated in any convenient vessel of wood or lead or. earthenware, and during the heating the materials are diligently stirred together. As soonas the temperature has reached 2120 Fahrenheit there maybe withdrawn and the whole permitted to cool and settle. The eupione is next decanted from the acid iiuid and treated with a warm solution of caustic soda, the whole being Well mixed and afterward left at rest for some time Lastly,the eupione is decanted from the alkaline iluid and distilled either alone or with water or steam, as is practiced with respect to volatile oils generally. The heavy oil containing paratiine is next treated either with strong sulphuric acid and peroxide of manganese in the proportion of ten per cent. of acid and iive per cent. of peroxide of manganese; or, what I prefer, it is subjected,- like the eupione, to the action of sulphurie acid and bichromate of potash in the same manner and proportion as indicated for the eupione, after which it is treated with soda lye and allowed to settle, exactly as explained with regard to the eupione. The heavy oil is then dccanted and dist-illed in the usual way; the iirst Aportions being added to the eupione as consisting chiefly of that substance. The second and by far the larger portion of the whole is received apart under the name lubricating-oil, while the last portions, being thick and of the consistence of butter, are mixed with the impure parafine which results from the third stage of the second distillation of the crude products, and which are treated as follows: Having allowed the impure paraffine to remain for twenty-four hours or longer in a cool place to crystallize, the oily mixture is placed in a bag or iilter similar -to those in use for the separation of spermaceti from sperm-oil. Vhen the oily Huid has drawn away, the paraine must be removed to a press and subjected to severe pressure, asis practiced with respect to stearic acid by the makers of that substance. It must then be melted,and when cold again pressed, the oil being in both cases added to thedrainings,which are to be treated as explained under the head heavy or lubricatingoil. The paraiine must now be melted and the heat raised to about 400 Fahrenheit, when strong sulphur-ic acid isto be carefully stirred into it in the proportion of one-twentieth to one-tenth of the weight of the paraiiine `operated upon. -After boiling for a few minutes the iire must be withdrawn and the charredoil of the paraine allowed to settle in`the form of a black powder from the paraffine. This beili'g separated, the paraiiine cistern heated by a steam-pipe or othermeaus to a low temperature of about 150o Fahrenheit, and subsequently more or less heated with oil of vitriol and caustic soda and subjected to distillation. I herein make no claim to such a mode of vobtaining and purifying para'ine; but

I clalny 1. Theuse Ofsuperheated steam as is indioated.,for the purpose indicated.

. 2. Themodeof separatingand purifying the eupioneJubricating-oil, and paraffine obtained by previous process.

VILLIAM BROWN.

Witnesses:

JAs. STEvENsoN, D. O. KELLOGG. 

